Much of the control of blood-cell formation is mediated by a group of interacting glycoproteins termed colony stimulating factors (CSFs). Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (“GM-CSF”), a soluble secreted glycoprotein, is a potent immunomodulatory cytokine known to facilitate development and prolongation of both humoral and cellular mediated immunity.
GM-CSF also plays a role in the genesis and progression of a plurality of human diseases, such as cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and degenerative diseases.
Therefore a long-felt need exists in the field for therapeutic compositions and methods capable of antagonizing or inhibiting the activity of GM-CSF. Despite multiple attempts to generate antibodies specific for GM-CSF, for instance, through the creation of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, no one has succeeded in creating a therapeutically-effective human antibody composition that inhibits the activity of GM-CSF. The invention provides compositions and methods for inhibiting, or neutralizing, the activity of GM-CSF, and, therefore, succeeds in addressing the long-felt need in the art.